Wednesday, May 16, 2012

God Loves Fags


It's hop time! In honor of the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, 250+ m/m authors, reviewers and publishers have come together in an attempt to bring about awareness of homophobic discrimination. Please stop by the Hop Against Homophobia and check out all those blogs where you could win over 250 m/m and GLBTQ related prizes.

Randy's dad is having some serious health problems, so he asked me (Erica Pike) to take over his blog during this hop. I've written a lot about homophobic discrimination over the past weeks and did a long post on it on my own site, so I'm going to make this short, but to the point.


What is it with the...

Image
...slogan? Seriously. It's a) wrong, because God doesn't hate anyone - really, where do people get off saying that he's hateful? b) so, so very wrong when it pops up like this:


That's sixteen children. Chances are that at least two of them are gay. If they ever dare come out, it's almost a given that they'll be shunned by their families. It is more likely though, that they'll never come out and will live their lives hating themselves and not understanding why God made them gay (or did the devil do it??).


To try to counter this slogan, more creative people have turned it into something a little more useful:


For those who don't know, the UK uses the word "fag" for "cigarettes".


These are also great:



Personally, I believe that...

...because God is loving and doesn't discriminate against his children. I don't believe in a hateful God.

I'm offering a book from my backlist to two different winners. This excludes my most recent release. Please leave a comment below with your email address.

Finally, please check out the other 250+ participants. There's a lot to win and a whole lot to learn :)

24 comments:

  1. It really pisses me off to see people use kids to send hate messages! That is so wrong.

    andreagrendahl AT gmail DOT com

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  2. I am a Christian, an ordained minister, and an LGBT writer. Love should always triumph over hate and I believe it always will.

    kimberlyFDR@yahoo.com

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  3. i agree with kimberly...i know some really NICE and WONDERFUL ppl who are gay :)

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  4. Personally I don't believe that God hates anyone.

    bubbliemom@gmail.com

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  5. For 65 years I have witnessed the senseless murders and the display of ignorance and hate, mostly done in the name of God. Yet, I enjoyed 25+ years of love with the man God intended for me. No one can deny you God or his gifts for you. And God bless those younger than I for not giving up on the fight for equal rights. Change has happened, albeit slowly, but it is moving all over the world. Don't give up on equal rights, love or the gifts God has for you. God does love you.

    buildingobooks@gmail.com

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  6. thank you for sharing this with us today. I think this is an important cause that needs the spotlight shining on it.

    musings-of-a-bookworm@hotmail.co.uk

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  7. I will be honest. I want the God Loves Bags bag,made me smile. I don't know why people bring innocent children in their hate. What kind of parent teaches hate, and what the hell do they about God? they annoy me!

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  8. It makes me sick seeing those children wearing shirts like that. If it's true and at least 2 of those kids are gay they are going to have pretty crappy lives growing up.
    I love the dog with the Dog Loves Fags sign!

    ineedtoread76 [at] gmail.com

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  9. Those pictures are so sad,to use and stifle a child's mind is criminal.The adults of these children are so sick.
    cvsimpkins@msn.com

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  10. Ah yes, Fred Phelps. He brought his schtick to a nearby high school, vowing to cause trouble at a teenager's funeral. The entire school and lots of other people came out in counter-protest, which was really gratifying to see. Fighting back through love...that's what it will take.

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  11. Thanks for participating in the hop. This is a great cause that I pray one day will not be needed.

    forettarose@yahoo.com

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  12. Wow! Those pics of the kids break my heart,

    morris.crissy@gmail.com

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  13. I couldn't believe those pics of the kids either. So sad. But I loved the other pics!
    Why can't we all just live and let live.
    steph@lesfragnes.com

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  14. I showed a bunch of these post to the teens in my family to show them how hurt some "innocent" remarks are to many others. I get so annoyed when my nephew says "you're so gay". ERRRR drove me crazy. I know he didn't mean anything by it but it is so wrong to use that as a saying. I think that these post have helped. Thank you all for sharing with us!
    forettarose@yahoo.com

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  15. Seeing children that small wearing t-shirts like that is horrifying, what is wrong with their parents?

    burchills AT gmail DOT com

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  16. It wasn't until coming online that I even knew "fag" had a meaning other than cigarette outside of the UK. I was chatting online with a couple of friends in the US and one in the UK when the UK one disappeared for a fag break (she wasn't allowed to smoke in the house) and the US reaction was comical to say the least.

    @Randy - hope your dad is doing better. You and your family are in my thoughts.

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  17. It is very moving to see the amount of support this event has brought out. Each post is an inspiration.

    L.M. - Thanks for your Kind wishes. Things are improving day by day.

    Erica - Thanks for the hard work.

    EVERYONE - Thanks for ebing patient with me.

    Randy

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  18. Thanks for participating for this wonderful cause of awareness…I teach high schoolers and this is a topic that we discuss at length. I just want them to be aware and know that they have the power to change the world!
    Yvette
    yratpatrol@aol.com

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  19. This is an absolutely wonderful post. I can't agree more. God is love, so who can dare claim that he hates anyone? It's just wrong... And those pictures are just heartbreaking.

    ashley.vanburen[at]gmail[dot]com

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  20. Babe I have all your stuff but thanks for doing this here as well as on your own blog.

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  21. It's scary what some parents teach their kids, and what they will dress them it. I hope some day all those kids realize how wrong what they were taught is, and find their own way. Thanks for posting! Lillywriting(at)gmail(dot)com

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  22. Thanks for the post. The hop was great.

    peggy1984@live.com

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  23. Thanks so much for sharing and those last pics. It always breaks my heart though when I see the young children with such hateful signs. To teach your kids such hateful things and then to use them to promote such hate when they don't even understand why and what they're hating is just plain wrong. Thanks for participating and speaking out!!

    tiger-chick-1(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  24. Thanks for participating!!

    annawelch23456@hotmail.com

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